Envelope



Dec. 5, 1967 c. P. GREASON 3,356,285

ENVELOPE Filed Aug. 30, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INVENTOR CRAIG P. GREASON fuzz 72% ATTORNEYS 1967 c. P GREASON 3,

ENVELOPE Filed Aug. 30, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. CRAIG P GREASON /2M2 wz za ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,356,285 ENVEL'DPE Craig P. Greason, Berry Hill Road, Syosset, N.Y. 11791 Filed Aug. 36, 1965, Ser. No. 483,450 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-70) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An envelope having an inner flap and an outer flap, the outer flap having a notch in its edge exposing a portion of the inner flap to permit gripper means of mailing machinery to grip the envelope body and the inner flap when in closed position without gripping the outer flap.

This invention relates to a new design for envelopes which have particular use in the mailing of invoices, bills or similar commercial paper.

In most commercial activities bills, invoices and similar inserts, are sent to customers through the mails. Mail is often the sole means of communication between the parties involved in a commercial transaction.

It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide a mailing envelope which, besides performing the usual function of carrying papers within, provides additional functions such as advertising and promotion.

It is a further object of this invention to provide, in such an envelope, a return slip, coupon or detachable order form which is detachable from the mailing envelope.

It is yet a further object of this invention to provide an envelope of the type described, which can be employed with standard bill-inserting machinery in many offices Without causing damage to this envelope or the advertising and billing-forms inserted therein.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a mailing envelope in which the gumming is disposed along the flaps of the envelope so as to permit ease of opening without the necessity of tearing the envelope to reach the objects contained within.

Further objects and features of this invention may be had from an examination of the specification and claims below in conjunction with the appended drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view showing one embodiment of a mailing envelope according to my invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view showing another position of the detachable flap and also showing the area available for advertising and other informational copy;

FIG. 3 is an isometric view showing the envelope of FIG. 1 when it is in a closed or sealed position; and

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of another embodiment of the envelope as shown in FIG. 1 according to my invention.

Referring now to the figures, the envelope shown generally as is of a standard size so that it may be used to meet typical inserting machine requirements. As with a standard envelope, envelope 10 is provided with a pocket portion 11 which is open at the top end thereof to receive the contents being sent within, such as bills, invoices, or letters.

However, also provided at the top end of the portion 11 is a flap 12 which may or may not be detachable from the top of portion 11. Flap 12, if detachable, may be used, for example, as a return order form which can be simply detached from the mailing envelope and the particulars such as the amount and type of goods being ordered, and the name of the person making the order are filled in.

It is also conceivable, as shown in FIG. 2, to place the senders promotional or advertising message on the outgoing mailing envelope. This message may be placed both on the inner portion of flap 12 and also on the upper section of portion 11 which is covered by flap 12 when the envelope is in the closed position as shown in FIG. 3.

A sealing flap 13 is foldably connected to the lower portion 11 and when folded over and sealed to portion 11, seals the envelope during mailing. To provide for ease of opening the received envelope, the gumming areas, instead of being disposed over the entire edge portion of seal flap 13, are arranged in separated spots 14 so that less effort is required to open the envelopes when the envelopes are opened either by manual or mechanical means. The provision of the separate gumming means enables the envelope to be opened without the necessity of tearing.

As many commercial institutions now employ mechanical inserting machinery for filling envelopes with bills and advertising material, and this machinery uses a gripper to grip the envelope in moving it through the inserting cycle, the seal flap 13 is provided (as shown in FIG. 1) with a tapered edge 15 so that the gripper will grasp the body 11 of the envelope 10 and the detachable coupon 12, while not gripping the seal flap 13, allowing the seal flap 13 to be turned back mechanically, independent of the detachable coupon 12.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the seal flap 13, is provided with a notch 16, which serves the same function as does the tapered edge 15 in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1.

It is also possible to employ an embodiment of this invention without a detachable flap or coupon appended from the throat of the envelope. Instead, the fold at the top of the seal flap itself may be perforated to provide a detachable order coupon. This, however, limits the amount of space which is available for promotional and advertising information in comparison to the space provided in the embodiments shown.

What I claim is:

An envelope comprising a receptacle portion having a throat;

a first flap foldably secured to the throat of said receptacle portion;

a second flap foldably secured along one of its sides to the throat of said receptacle portion, said second flap having an indentation in its free edge forming a notched portion along its periphery, said second flap completely overlying and covering said first flap except at the notched portion; and

an adhesive on the edge of said second flap opposite and remote from said one of its sides to seal said edge of said second flap to said receptacle portion, said adhesive being provided in discrete areas along said edge to facilitate unsealing of said second flap, said second flap being of suflicient size so that said adhesive does not overlie said first flap.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 684,298 10/ 1901 OBrien 229-73 978,421 12/ 1910 Wittman 229-73 2,417,050 3/ 1947 Baluk 229-73 2,855,138 10/1958 Hopkin 229- X 3,026,019 3/1962 Argabiget 229-73 X 3,104,800 9/1963 Johnson et a1. 229-70 JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner.

DAVIS T. MOORHEAD, Examiner. 

